2018 Staff Award Winners Announced

Author(s)

Alyssa Hurst

Three outstanding staff members and one department have been named as winners of the 2018 Staff Awards. The winners embody the dedication and forward-looking spirit that drive DU to be its very best. On Oct. 17, the winners will be recognized at DU’s annual Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon.

Outstanding Service Award: Jennifer Anderson

Jennifer Anderson

In her role as Advancement's associate director of career and professional development information systems, Jennifer Anderson deals in data. Anderson uses data as a super power, helping the University to better understand the life cycle of each student’s career journey at DU and beyond. Anderson helped build a data-tracking system — Pioneer Careers — in partnership with a vendor and launched it last year. With the system in place, DU has been able to refocus efforts around career development and help students plan for their futures. In fact, as students ready for graduation, Anderson personally greets them at the bookstore, encouraging them to make use of campus career resources and documenting data regarding their post-graduation plans.

According to colleagues like career advisor Kimberly English, Anderson’s work has had an impact far beyond her department. “She has done so much to integrate career development into the fiber of our campus,” English says. “Jennifer’s expertise has allowed for us to build a campus-wide experiential learning module, galvanize faculty around career development through our incredible outcomes data, and empower our students who might not be sure what their options are after graduation.”

Staff Innovator Award: Ingrid Weyher

Ingrid Weyher

As assistant to the chair in the Department of Languages and Literatures, Ingrid Weyher is one of two support staff members attending to one of the largest departments on campus. Weyher juggles many tasks at once, including budget and finance, HR hiring and general administration. Yet, she still finds time to go above and beyond her duties to make a difference. Noticing that each department in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) operated differently, she looked for ways for them to share knowledge and best practices. Weyher became a founding member of the CAHSS staff committee and was instrumental in creating the CAHSS training sessions.

Chad Leahy, assistant professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures, says that’s far from the end of Weyher’s innovative streak. “Since arriving three years ago, Ingrid has revolutionized the culture in [Languages and Literatures,] bringing with her a professionalism and efficiency that have significantly impacted how we operate as a unit,” he says. “She introduced new efficicencies and streamlined processes for tasks such as assigning major advisors, facilitated easier methods for processing paperwork and reimbursements [and] began tracking key data on enrollments and staffing in new ways.”

Crimson & Gold Award: Brian Elizardi

Brian Elizardi

Brian Elizardi, director of alumni engagement, is a Pioneer through and through. Elizardi’s connection to the University dates back to his undergraduate studies. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from DU and has held numerous positions at the University, including roles with Campus Life, Admissions and Advancement. In the past year, Elizardi has taken his dedication to DU a step further through the creation of a series of alumni engagement efforts called Pioneering Denver. Pioneering Denver brings Denver-based alums together to engage with one another and with the broader community, all while fostering a greater sense of connection to the University.

According to Lillie Lamm, assistant director of alumni engagement, Elizardi’s work has been instrumental in bringing together the Pioneer community. “Far from the chapter models and happy hours seen in traditional alumni engagement shops, Pioneering Denver and all of Brian's efforts connect our community in interesting and meaningful ways that create lasting impact for our alums, students and our beloved city,” Lamm says. “Brian is constantly challenging the way we think about our work, how to insert creative and forward-thinking ideas and following up with the dedication to see his ideas come to life.”

Departmental Award: Conference and Events Services

Conference Events Services

DU’s Conference and Events Services (CES) is responsible for all of the celebrations that populate the University’s calendar each year. Whether those celebrations, conferences and ceremonies are internal, or serve the external community, CES is dedicated to holding events that align with DU’s key values of excellence, innovation, engagement, integrity and inclusiveness. To that end, CES works on countless events at no cost, such as the Veteran’s Cording Ceremony and student-organized events. What’s more, CES guides students, staff and faculty through the work of hosting events on campus and offers 25Live training and best-practices to improve the process.

Kelsey Job, conference and events manager, says representing the University properly is all in a day’s work. “Conference and Event Services aims to include, educate and empower both internal employees, educators and students, as well as welcome the external community to explore the University of Denver,” she says. “This department exemplifies inclusive excellence.”

To read more about this year's faculty award honorees, please click here.